The Whipping Post
by D7Victor
Summary: Joniss one-shot AU: Johanna and Katniss are caught poaching in the forests outside of District 12. But Johanna takes the fault for both of them, leaving her with the punishment. Warning: detailed violence/torture. Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters.


"Come on… just a few… more… feet." Johanna hid behind a cluster of trees and branches as she watched a deer graze around the underbrush. The animal looked up at its surroundings for a moment before continuing to pick at the grassy patches below. With soft steps, the girl stayed in a crouch while moving to get a better vantage point. Once the animal was in clear range, she lifted the worn tomahawk to her shoulder, blade facing forward. Her arm projected the weapon forward and it twirled twice before slamming into the deer's chest. It dropped to the ground.

It was another successful hunting trip that meant more meat to give to Greasy Sae when she returned to town. In order to not get caught, she would have to skin the animal here. Trying to carry a full deer through the woods, across the fence, and into town would be the dumbest thing anyone could do. Though, poaching outside of the District 12 border was not advised either.

As Johanna took to work skinning the deer, something crunched behind her. In a flash, she turned with axe in hand but soon let her guard down when she realized who it was. "Katnip. Glad you finally joined the fun. What took you so long?" She dropped the axe and knelt beside the deer again.

"Sorry. I had to help Prim with a few things." Katniss stepped closer and sat on a fallen tree across from Johanna. "Looks like you did perfectly fine without me though."

Johanna looked up and grinned. "Yeah, but I prefer having you around." Katniss smiled and rolled her eyes at her. They had been friends for several years now, both of them taking solace in each other while having to be the major support system for their families. Only young teenagers, Johanna did have a few years on Katniss; she also had abundance more in tesserae. With the age came a little more anger. Johanna was always skeptical about the government and angry with how the working classes were often subdued with scare tactics. Everything was a threat but there was never any action. Katniss did not care to think about any of that; all she wanted was to take care of her mother and Prim.

They sat without saying another word for a while, letting nature fill the silence with chirping birds and rustling leaves in the wind. Katniss looked up at the blue sky and sighed. "How are your brothers?"

"The usual. Annoying and obnoxious. Luckily, after this year, we won't have to worry about anyone getting reaped for two years. Given that I don't get picked from the damn pile this year." The raven-haired girl rolled her eyes.

"You won't. You have had luck on your side this entire time."

"Luck runs out."

Katniss couldn't disagree. Luck certainly ran out on her side ever since her father died. "You ever wonder what it is like in the other Districts?"

Her friend looked up from the deer. "No, because they are either worse or better off than us, and thinking of either of those possibilities pisses me off." She shook her head and sighed. "Would you or Prim be able to watch my brothers and little sister tomorrow? They extended works hours tomorrow so my father and I will be working."

Katniss plucked at her bow string. "Of course. Why did they extend hours?"

"Who knows. Probably need more coal in order for the Capitol to do something." Johanna was typically never this bitter and Katniss wondered what went wrong to put the girl in a bad mood. She knew asking would not result in an answer so she gave up without even trying.

There was a crunch of leaves in the distance. Johanna's head quickly looked to her left, her tomahawk ready to go; Katniss had stood up, bow loaded to shoot. The crunching continued to approach before Katniss saw a flash of white uniform. "Peacekeepers. Jo, we need to get out of here now!" She looked to see Johanna already standing and grabbing her by the arm as she ran.

They sprinted through the forest and back towards the fence. The footsteps behind them grew faster. "Go to the fence, I will distract them." Johanna shouted.

"Are you sure?" Katniss looked at her with concern.

"Go to the fence and go straight home." She stopped and coerced Katniss to keep running. Her eyes darted around for a way to distract the Peacekeepers and she could find were some loose rocks. Johanna waited for them to approach before pegging the stones at them. They continued to approach. "Shit." The girl turned to run but her boot caught under a tree root and twisted her ankle as she pulled away. She hit the ground hard, unable to stand back up before the guards reached her.

Two of them grabbed one arm each and yanked her up. She tried to pull herself away but they only tightened their grip. "Keep moving and she what happens." The third Peacekeeper walked away, the baton in his hand. "Where did the other girl go?"

"What other girl?" Johanna gave an arrogant grin while staring him dead in the eyes, showing that she did not fear any of them.

"I do not play games. There were two of you, where is the second?" The man pointed the baton to her face, threatening to use it. She looked down at the weapon and then back up, refusing to speak. "Tell us now." Her eyes remained focused on him. Without warning, the stick whipped across her face. Johanna's vision blurred and her eyes went wide, trying to refocus them. When no words left her, there was another hit, this time a hard thunk on her head. She moved into being unconscious, the last thing she heard being, "Fine. You get double the punishment then."

* * *

><p>Johanna fought against them once she came to again. She tried to wrench her arms away but they held her wrists in a death grip. "Put the cuffs on her!" The commander barked and they followed orders but not without difficulty. She dug her heels into the ground, though it did not help her injured ankle. Johanna's body was weakened from the previous abuse, allowing her to only put in a minute of effort. The Peacekeepers threw her on the ground and pinned her there. The man in charge placed a heavy foot on her back while the two others pulled her arms back and placed cuffs around her wrists. They pulled her up to her feet and dragged her forward back through the fence and through the town.<p>

The grips they had on her upper arms began to hurt as the Peacekeepers essentially carried her to the center of the town where the Justice Building was located. She always thought the name was ironic. There was no justice between the people and the government and this was about to prove it.

She was forced down to her knees in front of a post with steel plates attached to secure her wrists. As soon as they unlocked her handcuffs, Johanna tried to pull away but the Peacekeepers already had one wrist secured to the post, shortly followed by the other. She was stuck. There was no getting out. Panic and adrenaline ran through her body as she twisted and turned, trying to pull herself out of the stockade. Grunts of effort escaped her and sweat trickled down her forehead.

Johanna looked up between strands on loose hair at the district citizens gathering around. They were likely scared into thinking their attendance was mandatory. "This is what happens when you break the laws! This girl was found outside the fence, poaching on government land. She also defied the Peacekeepers and she will now be punished for it." The man speaking ripped the shirt from her back to reveal a sweat stained tank top.

The entire square was silent as Johanna braced herself. With a loud crack, the first lash hit her back. Her body shot forward into the post for support. She produced a pain-filled grunt as the crowd gasped in horror. The second lash was harsher on the now sensitive skin. With the third, she fought the urge to scream, feeling the skin on her back break and bleed. The lashes continued seven more times before they stopped.

The Peacekeeper kneeled next to her as she gasped for air and closed her eyes to hold back the tears. "That was your punishment. These next ten are for the friend you refused to tell us about." He stood and sent the whip across her back with more strength. She refused to scream. They could have the reward of torturing her but they were not going to break her.

The lashes continued to brutally tear her back apart. Halfway through, her arms gave out and she hung by her wrists, her face pressed into the post. Johanna felt herself going in and out of consciousness. Blood soaked her now torn tank top and some of it was speckled on her face and her arms from the whip's recoil.

"I hope you all have learned your lesson today or else you will also be made example of. Now, BACK TO WORK!" The Commander kneeled down next to Johanna as everyone walked away from the scene. "If you so much put a foot out of line, it's death by firing squad. Consider this a warning."

Johanna looked at him with anger in her eyes. "You're so gracious."

He screamed in frustration and stood up, sending the whip across her back once more, this time being the hardest yet. It ripped across her back like someone dragging a nail deep into her skin. Johanna could no longer hold the pain inside. A blood-curdling scream emitted from her throat. Her voice cracked as she fell unconscious. Her body rested limp against the post, her stance leaving her arms tugging at the cuffs.

Katniss approached the post with Johanna's father as soon as the Peacekeepers walked away. "Johanna!" The girl's voice was filled with fear as she fell to her knees next to her friend. "We will get you taken care of." They fumbled with the pegs in the cuffs. Once they were pulled out, Katniss caught the limp body.

Johanna's father and another worker returned with a long board. They placed it next to her before carefully placing the girl face down along the length of it. "My mom and Prim will be able to take care of her."

"Then let's hurry." The girl's father grabbed the end of the board at his daughter's head and shoulder. The other person grabbed the foot end. They rushed through the town and to Katniss' house. No one else could care for Johanna as well as Mrs. Everdeen could. They had always seemed to have a silent understanding of each other, which occasionally made Katniss jealous considering she received nothing but guilt from her mother.

They stormed into the house. "Mom! Prim! It's Johanna, we need help now!"

The two came running into the kitchen area, instantly looking at Johanna's now writhing body. They were both shocked to see the deep gashes along her back. "On the table." Mrs. Everdeen immediately started gathering supplies to clean the wounds. Prim and Katniss rushed to the clear the table as the two men placed the board on top.  
>Someone knocked on the door before walking in with fervor. It was Madge. "I brought supplies to help. Rags, morphling, salve." She placed the box on the nearby counter before looking at Johanna. Madge quickly looked away. Johanna groaned, her hands pulled tightly into fists. Her body was shaking in pain.<p>

"She needs morphling." Mrs. Everdeen pulled out the medicine and a needle from Madge's box. She tried to pull the liquid but her shaking hands made it impossible.  
>"I've got it." Prim took the medicine and pulled the morphling as her mom started wetting the rags down. With an easing calm, Prim walked over to Johanna and stuck the needle into her upper back, injecting the medicine. Johanna grunted in pain from the injection.<p>

Within a minute, the girl's body was relaxed and asleep. Katniss looked at Johanna's father, who stared down at his daughter with a straight but concerned face. There was fear in his eyes as he watched them clean the wounds. Katniss looked down at the girl's back and winched at how bad the wounds were. She instantly felt guilty knowing that Johanna was punished and not her as well. Her friend had taken the full blame without a second thought and she ran away without a second thought. She could have revealed herself back in the woods but she didn't and that's what divided them as people. Johanna was selfless and loyal, whereas Katniss was selfish. She felt heavy with emotion. No one deserved this kind of punishment.

* * *

><p>Katniss sat next to Johanna throughout the night. She leaned against the table and drifted to sleep a few times before jerking awake to the images of the girl getting lashed. Early the next morning, she woke to see Johanna's eyes slightly open and blinking slowly. The morphling was obviously still holding an effect on her but it would probably be fading soon if she was awake.<p>

"Jo!" Katniss grabbed the girl's hand and gripped it tightly. "I'm so sorry."

Johanna looked at her with weak eyes. This was the most vulnerable Katniss had ever seen the girl and it was heartbreaking. "It's okay." The words were barely audible.

"No, no it's not. I should have been up there too. It's not fair that only you were punished."

"Katnip. It's okay."

"I'm so selfish."

"Stop." Johanna's was obviously using a lot of effort to speak. Her voice was rasp. "You are selfish, but I still love you." Her last few words drifted off as she but Katniss heard them loud and clear.

She stared at her in shock. Johanna had never expressed something that heartfelt before. Everything she said was either filled with sarcasm or anger or sexual undertones. Katniss knew she liked Johanna passed more than just their friendship but she still questioned if it was love. Without a second thought, Katniss leaned forward and lightly kissed Johanna's lips. They were chapped but still soft; though, the iron taste of dried blood on her lips made Katniss cringe as she pulled away. "I will stay here until you are better." She squeezed her hand again.

"Good, I prefer having you around." Even when in pain, Johanna still managed to give her the trademark smug smile before passing back out.

* * *

><p>Notes: Created this one shot from a request by megans-chart on tumblr. It was fun to write, despite the intensity of it. If any of you have a request, feel free to PM me or send a message on tumblr at d7victor.<p>

As usual, reviews are very much welcomed! :)


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